Today we visited the fire station with our Early Childhood PTA group. Reese was so excited to visit & see the fire trucks. We got to see their living quarters, their recreation area, & of course the HUGE garage where the fire engines, ladder trucks, etc. are housed. As always, the firemen were so gracious and allowed the children to try on their boots & jackets, climb all over the fire engines, & even sit in their recliners in the rec room!
This was THE most important lesson of today. Most children have never seen a fireman with full dress AND a mask. The image they usually see is a fireman in a coat, boots, & hat. It is SO very important to expose our children to what a fireman will look like in a fire. With smoke, heat, fire alarms, & terror, most children during a fire will hide or move away from the scary person looking like this who is coming at them. Although I never want to scare children, I was glad that some of the attending kiddos got scared so that the parents could see (in a safe environment with Mom at hand) that it is a scary thing. Imagine their reaction during a real fire. The dressed fireman was great. He knelt down and all the children got to go up to him, give him a hi-5, really get up close & see that he's not anything to be afraid of. I hope that Reese will remember this vision & our conversation/experience today just in case there ever was a fire.
Visiting the kitchen was the most anticipated part for Reese. He talked about the kitchen all morning, & how he hopes he gets to see it. We visited the firestation last year, and I guess something in there really stuck in his memory! Perhaps it's the 3 refrigerators, or the commercial stove. Who knows? But he was just in awe of the firehouse kitchen!
Of course, driving the fire truck was the other highlight of the day. I think Reese would have stayed up there all morning if it was possible. The firemen were so generous, allowing all the children to climb in the driver's seat, climb around the back seats...all of which made for some great pictures for Mommy!
What a GREAT morning at the Lewisville Fire Station!
This was THE most important lesson of today. Most children have never seen a fireman with full dress AND a mask. The image they usually see is a fireman in a coat, boots, & hat. It is SO very important to expose our children to what a fireman will look like in a fire. With smoke, heat, fire alarms, & terror, most children during a fire will hide or move away from the scary person looking like this who is coming at them. Although I never want to scare children, I was glad that some of the attending kiddos got scared so that the parents could see (in a safe environment with Mom at hand) that it is a scary thing. Imagine their reaction during a real fire. The dressed fireman was great. He knelt down and all the children got to go up to him, give him a hi-5, really get up close & see that he's not anything to be afraid of. I hope that Reese will remember this vision & our conversation/experience today just in case there ever was a fire.
Visiting the kitchen was the most anticipated part for Reese. He talked about the kitchen all morning, & how he hopes he gets to see it. We visited the firestation last year, and I guess something in there really stuck in his memory! Perhaps it's the 3 refrigerators, or the commercial stove. Who knows? But he was just in awe of the firehouse kitchen!
Of course, driving the fire truck was the other highlight of the day. I think Reese would have stayed up there all morning if it was possible. The firemen were so generous, allowing all the children to climb in the driver's seat, climb around the back seats...all of which made for some great pictures for Mommy!
What a GREAT morning at the Lewisville Fire Station!
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